50 Extraordinary (Yet Do-able) Things To Do in South Africa Before You Die

Everyone has a bucket list of the things they want to do before they die.

Usually these include items like travelling to far off, exotic destinations – such as the Great Wall of China – or doing the near impossible like witnessing the aurora borealis, learning all the countries of the world and their capitals off by heart, giving up all attachment to ‘stuff’, and juggling with three balls (alright, not all of us have a penchant for juggling).

But what if we made the list not only desirable but achievable? And in our own back yard, in South Africa.

Photograph: Swim with Penguins at Boulders Beach in Cape Town

OUR BUCKET LIST: TICK THOSE YOU’VE ALREADY DONE

Sleep overnight on top of Table Mountain in the Overseers Cottage

Swim with penguins in Cape Town at Boulders Beach

Dive with great white sharks in Gansbaai

Ride in luxury on the Blue Train

Canoe down the Orange River from Upington in the Northern Cape

Stay in a treehouse in Sedgefield (see here) or in Hoedspruit (see here)

Sway on the back of an elephant whilst on safari in Hazyview

Hot air balloon over the Magaliesberg (see here) or the Pilanesberg, North West (see here)

Learn how to surf in Jeffreys Bay

Witness whales just metres from your boat

Photograph: Hike the Whale Trail in De Hoop

Stay overnight at a lighthouse: Cape Columbine, Cape St Blaize, Great Fish Point or North Sand Bluff

Visit the country’s labyrinths

Bungi off the Bloukrans Bridge at Storms River (see here) or Gouritsmond (see here)

Stay in a matjieshuis (traditional Khoi home meaning ‘house of mats’) in the Knersvlakte, Northern Cape

Learn how to grow your own mushrooms for fun in Cape Town

Visit Mini Town (again) on Durban’s beachfront

Power swing at the Moses Mabhida Stadium

Visit Durban’s Bangladesh Market

Ride an ostrich in Oudtshoorn

Stay at bulungula Homestay initiative – an authentic traditional village in the Transkei

Photograph: Power swing at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, KwaZulu Natal

Abseil down Table Mountain

Go on a silent retreat at Temenos or

Ixopo Budhist retreat centre

Learn how to sandboard in Bettys Bay

Attend a latte art workshop at Stil. Coffee in Jo’burg

Skydive in Mossel Bay

Picnic with elephants in Little Brak

Go on a guided bushveld walk in Addo

Explore Suicide Reef in Noordhoek

Hike the Fanie Botha Trail in Sabie

Photograph: Papiesfontein Beach Horseride in Jeffreys Bay

Learn how to paint in Ficksburg

Learn how to make chocolate truffles in De Waterkant

Learn how to bake artisan bread with artist Niel Jonker in Baardskeerdersbos

Ride a rickshaw along Durban’s beachfront

Pray at the Juma Masjid Mosque in Durban

Set up your easel at Kaapschehoop

Abseil off Kurisa Moya, Houtbosdorp

Experience the night sky in Sutherland

Learn to fly a helicopter in Germiston

Learn the principles of permaculture to grow your own food in the Klein Karoo

Photograph: Abseil down Table Mountain in Cape Town

Go on a night time tour of the Jo’burg Zoo

Power swing at the decommissioned cooling towers of Soweto

Hike the Whale Trail

Hike the Eden to Addo Trail from Knysna to Addo

Run the Comrades Marathon

Visit the Blyde River Canyon in Mpumalanga

Watch a live soccer match in Gauteng

Ride horseback on Noordhoek beach

Escape to the nether regions of the upper Karoo, Northern Cape

Bathe at the Long Street Baths in Cape Town

These are our suggestions of things to do in South Africa before you die! Start exploring – besides offering accommodation in South Africa, we feature over 4000 fabulous “Things to Do in South Africa” and hundreds of Attractions.